Blue Ridge Babies 1, 2, 3: A Counting Book - Hardcover

Gardner, Laura Sperry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 164567083X ISBN 13: 9781645670834

Publisher: Page Street Kids, 2021

Synopsis

Explore the Blue Ridge Mountains, a part of the Appalachian range that teems with fascinating plant and wildlife, through the memorable frame of the engaging folk song “Over in the Meadow.” Amongst budding dogwood trees, crooked creeks, mountains fading to heaven, and other stunning settings, animal mothers and their young all play a part in the great wide wilderness. Count the babies on every page: one fawn hides while two bear cubs forage, three cardinal fledglings fly and four owlets hoot, all the way up to ten salamander efts and one last expansive view of a unique American region.

This traditional tune made new and paired with gorgeous, lushly illustrated creatures and environments will have kids counting, singing, and totally awed by the natural world.

About this title

About the Author

Laura Sperry Gardner works as a youth services librarian just a short drive away from the Blue Ridge Parkway. She also teaches classes on traditional plant medicines, leads plant walks, and demonstrates folk medicine making. After earning her BS in English education and German education from Western Carolina University, she went on take master’s creative writing classes there. She lives in Mills River, North Carolina. This is her debut picture book.

Stephanie Fizer Coleman is a freelance illustrator who grew to love nature as a child and continues to find inspiration outside. She earned a BA in history while also studying ballet. Blending traditional and digital elements, her style experiments with all kinds of textures, patterns, and bright colors. She lives in Scott Depot, West Virginia, where she enjoys tending her vegetable garden and trying out new vegan recipes.

Reviews

Baby-Toddler-A delightful new adaptation of Over in the Meadow takes readers and listeners to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia. "Over in the Blue Ridge in the leaf-dappled sun/lived a gentle mother deer and her little fawn ONE. ‘Hide,' said the mother. ‘I hide,' said the ONE. So they hid in the forest full of leaf-dappled sun." Part counting book, part natural history, this work introduces animals endemic to the Blue Ridge Mountains (squirrel, badger, trout, rabbit, salamander) and the collective nouns of their offspring (baby salamanders are efts). Readers will want to sing along; Gardner is precise in adapting to the original meter. Coleman's illustrations, in some places displaying a translucence like tissue-paper collage, are bright and inviting for the prereaders who are going to adore this. Back matter includes basic information on some of the animals found in the book, as well as a musical score for the chorus. VERDICT This will be a story time hit well beyond Appalachia. A first purchase for public libraries.-Jennifer Knight, North Olympic Lib. Syst., Port Angeles, WAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Edition details

• Publisher: Page Street Kids
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 164567083X
• ISBN 13: 9781645670834
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Coleman Stephanie Fizer
• Number of pages: 32